The Gifted: Always a Battle
by Annunminuialiel
Summary: It's been 3 years since the Inner Circle was destroyed and Clarice died. John has begun to move on. With a human. The government has taken steps to improve life for mutants but that doesn't mean things are safe.


I had this idea stuck in my head before i saw the final episode. Basically everything in the finale happened minus the last minute or so when Clarice came back. In this fanfiction she died and its been three years. This is a John/OC story. What happened in the last 3 years will be explained slowly as the story progresses..

John exited the ride and stumbled into a nearby wall.

"Careful. Who knew the mighty John could be weakened by amusement park rides." Said Jessica smirking playfully but grabbing his arm to help steady him.

"Sensory overload," John grumbled.

"Let's get outside and find you a bench."

John nodded and allowed the petite blonde to steer him through the crowds of people to an empty bench. He sat slowly and closed his eyes, hoping the world would stop spinning.

"I'm sorry. This was my idea. You'd never been before and I didn't consider how it might effect your abilities."

"It's fine. Just give me a minute," John gritted his teeth in frustration. This was the first girl he'd felt this way about since Clarice. It felt like he was blowing it.

"Why don't we head back? You wait here and I'll go grab my things from the locker."

John nodded, now staring at asphalt. The spinning was improving but his head still felt like it was under water and his ears were ringing. People did this for fun? It was near torture for him.

Jessica rubbed his shoulder and left him with a peck on the cheek. The lockers weren't far. Just about a block away and around the corner. She didn't notice two pairs of footsteps not far behind. She opened the locker compartment and pulled out her phone and purse. She threw the strap over her head and took a quick look at her phone. In a split second a hand slapped the phone and it tumbled to the ground. The screen cracked.

"What the-"

She was pushed roughly from behind into the lockers. Two men stood behind her but she could only see one face from her position. He was scruffy and thin, not much taller than she was. The man holding her against the lockers growled.

"Are you a mutey too, or just a traitor to your species?"

"It's none of your business!" Jessica tried to sound angry and strong instead of scared and shocked.

"It's my business when a human is helping grow that filthy mutant population." He shoved her against the lockers again.

She hoped someone would come, someone would see. It wasn't that secluded and it was a busy theme park. She tried to think of how to fight back but her mind felt clouded by fear. She used both hands to push against the lockers, to make enough space to slip away. He held his ground, grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. Another shove into the lockers and the back of her head hit one of the locks. The pain caused her to yelp which was quickly silenced. The man looked her in the eyes while his hands wrapped around her neck and began squeezing.

"You're lucky we ain't someplace else or I'd remind you what it's like to be with another human. That'd fix ya."

Jessica clawed at his fingers to no avail. His eyes were crazed and his grip only tightened. She wondered how long it would take for him to strangle her to death. The man's skinny friend began looking nervous.

"C'mon man. We gotta go. That old guy just spotted us."

The angry man shoved her against the lockers again for good measure and let her fall to the ground. She took turns gasping and coughing. The skinny man aimed a kick at her stomach before leaving quickly with his friend. The edges of her vision were darkening and blurry as she fought to stay conscious. The face of another man came into view. He had a kind face with graying hair. Someone stood behind him, a teenager? It was getting harder to see.

"Don't worry miss. Security and a medic are on the way. You'll..."

She didn't hear the rest as the world went dark and silent.

John was beginning to feel himself again. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since Jessica left but it seemed a little long. He peered down the way toward the lockers. Two security guards were jogging in that direction with a nurse carrying a duffle bag just behind them. He stood from the bench and strained to hear their conversation over the bustling crowds. The crowds of people made it difficult to concentrate on his powers but the few words he heard sent him rushing in their direction.

"...female unconscious. Attacked in the locker area."

That's where Jessica was! He prayed it wasn't her while he dashed around people. He turned the corner to the lockers and stopped suddenly. It was her. A security officer was holding her shoulders as she was slowly sitting up. The nurse was kneeling in front her asking questions and riffling through his duffle bag.

She tentatively touched the back of her head and her fingers came back smeared with blood. She hadn't noticed John standing there, staring. He was tired. So tired of all of this. People all around him were dying or getting hurt. Things were supposed to be better now and yet here they were. He shut down his dark thoughts temporarily and closed the distance between them, collapsing next to her. The look on his face kept everyone else from asking him questions.

"W-what happened?"

"Got in a fight with a locker. I won. Obviously." She smiled weakly but her voice was quiet.

John rolled his eyes and looked at the security officer behind her. He cleared his throat and gestured to a father and his teenage daughter not far away.

"Mr. Henry here noticed something going on and the two assailants fled the scene. That's all we know so far."

"It was two men. One about 5'9, roughly 150 pounds with brown hair and lighter facial hair and the other was about 6' maybe 200 pounds, blonde hair. I can help I.D. or assist a sketch artist when this is handed over to the proper authorities."

"My dad is a retired cop." His teenage daughter filled in for the stunned officers.

The nurse handed some gauze to Jessica and instructed her to hold it against her head wound. He waved a light back and forth over her eyes while she did. His eyes widened some as he noticed the redness around her neck.

"Lack of oxygen caused me to pass out." She gestured to her neck with her free hand.

"Do you know those guys?" The nurse asked. John's brows furrowed but he remained silent. He was angry and confused and he didn't want to look at her sitting on the ground or the bits of blood on the locker or her cellphone a few feet away.

"Never seen them in my life. Just a couple of guys looking for trouble." She winced as she adjusted her hand holding pressure on the back of her head. "I wish I had given them more of it. It happened so fast."

John's heart plummeted. "This was not your fault." He meant it to sound sincere but instead it came out angry. So angry.

She looked him in the eyes for the first time since regaining consciousness.

"It's not yours either." She was firm, as if she knew what he was thinking. Her voice sounded terrible.

The nurse cleared his throat to get Jessica's attention, "I think we need to get you to a hospital. At the very least you need stitches and we need to rule out a concussion. Try to keep talking to a minimum for now."

While she was distracted John put his hand to the ground and closed his eyes. Wanting and not wanting to relive Jessica's moments. It was exactly what he was afraid of. He felt crushing guilt. It was because of him. He felt a soft hand touch his.

"No ambulances." She was looking at John, her expression soft and searching.

"I'd like to collect your information first and I'll make sure the local police meet you there to take your statement." The officer behind her nodded and pulled out a notepad.

John gave him the information he needed while the nurse helped Jessica to her feet. It was obvious he did not like the idea of just letting them leave for the hospital on their own.

"It looks worse than it is. I'm a third year resident, I'll be fine."

John shook his head a little. If the situation had been different he would have smiled. Leave it to Jessica to try and reassure someone else while she was the patient.

The nurse shrugged and muttered, "doctors really do make the worst patients."

John stood next to Jessica unsure how to help her to the car. He could easily just lift her up and carry her there but something told him that her pride was already hurting enough. There was a connection with her he hadn't experienced before, an understanding. It was as if they could sense each other's thoughts and emotions. Jessica reached out and wrapped an arm around his upper arm. She kept her other hand firmly pressing on the back of her head.

The security officers escorted them out of the theme park to John's car. For the first time in a long while, he felt appreciative of law enforcement individuals. With their help they were able to take short cuts and push through the crowds. It was Jessica's grip that continued in pressure that told him the adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was increasing. One of the officers opened the passenger door and Jessica slid in. John grabbed the seatbelt and clicked it in for her while keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"Thank you," John said gruffly as he speedily jumped into the drivers seat, turned on the ignition and sped away.

The ride was uncomfortably quiet. John did his best to keep his cool but he couldn't get what happened out of his head. He slammed his palm against the steering wheel leaving a dent.

"Maybe it's the head injury but I think you just ran a red light back there."

"Do you think this is funny? What happened to you? And all I keep thinking is that you were lucky. It could have been so much worse. I've seen so much worse."

"John," her tone was serious now, "I know that. How do you want me to react? It isn't fair. None of this is fair. I just wanted to have a normal day with you. I chose the date and I didn't think. I didn't think how it might effect you and your abilities. I didn't think that someone might recognize you. I didn't think that some low lives would be watching and waiting to try and teach me a lesson for loving a mutant. I know what you're thinking right now. I-"

Her voice was raspy and she began coughing uncontrollably. John glanced over at her, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. This wasn't helping him control his anger. The hospital was in view now. He scanned for an ER parking spot while he sped the car over hospital speed bumps.

"Thank you," she said quietly, "for not taking me to my hospital."

John ignored her as he parked the car and rushed to the passenger side. He helped her out of the car and toward the hospital. She was moving slower than before, looking more pained. They walked through the doors and to the receptionist.

"Fill this out and provide your ID and proof of insurance and we will be with you," the receptionist barely glanced up.

"Oh sure, let me just bleed all over your waiting area while I fill these out," Jessica's tone was firm but strained.

John looked over at her. He wanted to shout at her to stop talking already! She looked pale and tired. The receptionist looked up at them from her chair and looked like she might laugh before noticing Jessica's condition. She stood up and ushered them into a small examination room.

"Wait here. I'll have a nurse see you in a moment."

She disappeared but not before giving John a strange look. It didn't take long for a nurse to arrive with a clipboard and some paperwork.

"Occipital laceration. Needs stitches. Trauma to larynx and-" the coughing started again and she could no longer finish her sentence.

The nurse wrote some things down and scurried away just as quickly. Jessica took a shaky breath and then laid back on the exam chair. John paced back and forth nearby. Luckily Jessica was human. This whole process was already so much less complicated. But being human was part of the problem. He knew she'd hate it but he couldn't help seeing her as more fragile than his fellow mutants. Being with him was only asking for trouble. He'd allowed himself the delusion of a normal, happy relationship. He really thought things were better. That they would be different. This was a wake up call. He could never escape the hate.

Ten minutes passed and a doctor walked in. A young, handsome doctor who clearly knew Jessica.

"I heard Hillary was admitting you. What happened? The police are here to take your statement after you've been treated."

"She was attacked. We were at an amusement park. Two guys cornered her. One...choked her." John spoke up after Jessica tried but failed to respond.

"Ok let's numb and stitch up that laceration first and go from there."


End file.
